We just got back from a trip to Prague, Vienna, and Bratislava, exploring Christmas markets and three new cities. It was a magical trip; I absolutely love Christmas markets, and it was wonderful to visit a few beautiful cities that were completely new to me. This post covers the highlights from that trip, as well as some pictures. I hope to one day dig into all of this in more detail, but I’ll save that for a future post. For now, this is simply a list of fun things we did that I’d recommend.

Before we jump into this, I should note that we did not put together this timeline in advance; instead, Jerry wrote down what we did at the end of each day. From that, I’ve pulled together a list of everything we did every day. I really don’t like extensive planning in advance of trips; if you want to read more, check out my travel philosophy.

Day 1: Arrive in Vienna, Take the Train to Prague

From our home in Salt Lake City, we were able to find a decently good flight to Vienna. It was a good itinerary, and we arrived in the morning. It’s a fairly long train ride from Vienna to Prague, so we spent the day half asleep on the 4.5 hr ride to Prague.

Day 2: Prague

• Old Town Square Christmas Market where we enjoyed mulled wine and stuffed potato dumplings
• Peace Square Christmas Market where we tried gingerbread mulled wine and a fig crepe
• Attended a Christmas concert at St. Nicholas Church, followed by more potato dumplings at the Old Town Square Christmas Market

Day 3: Prague

• Visited the Prague Castle (note: there’s a TON to see here – this could easily be a whole day…I limited my visit to just the Prague Castle Picture Gallery, which was lovely)
• Tapster Academy at Pilsner Urquell Experience (this was SO COOL – I highly recommend it if you get the chance! Who knew that there were three different ways to pour the same beer?)
• Wenceslas Square Christmas Market
• Anděl Christmas Market for dinner, where we saw many angels, St. Nicks, and Krampuses (what’s that the plural form of Krampus?). This was probably my favorite Christmas market in Prague.

Day 4: Still Prague

• Farmer’s Christmas market at Palackého Náměstí where we ate some Christmas sausage and turkey on a potato pancake
• Craft market at Výstaviště, which had tons of local crafts and artisans. We enjoyed the pottery in particular.
• Kampa Island Christmas Market
• Fancy dinner At the Golden Scissors

Day 5: Prague to Vienna by Train

• Art Advent Market, where we had a Feuerzangenbowle (think a fancy punch with a flaming sugar cube!)
• Pleasant dinner at Bistro 59 near the Art Advent Market
• Magical trumpet Christmas concert at St. Anne’s Church
• Drogerie Bar for a nightcap

Day 6: Bratislava

Bratislava is only an hour away from Vienna by train, and it’s well worth the visit. We absolutely loved the city – the people were nice, it was much less expensive than Vienna, and the Christmas markets felt truly magical. Note that many things are closed in Bratislava on Tuesdays, so plan accordingly (but if you do end up there on a Tuesday, there’s still plenty to do!).

• Main Square Christmas Market
• Bratislava Castle
• Two monastic breweries
• ‎⁨Hviezdoslav Square Christmas Market
• Goulash at Zylinder Cafe and Restaurant

Day 7: More Vienna

• Schönbrunn Palace (note: tickets online are cheaper; depending on what you want to see, you may need to get a timed entry ticket, which may sell out early in the day)
• Freyung Christmas Market
• Pastry and a drink at DE CENTRAL
• Am Hof Christmas Market
• St. Stephens Cathedral – this is absolutely unreal, inside and out! If you go to Vienna, you must stop in! If you plan in advance, you may even be able to catch a concert there!
• Fancy dinner at The White Chimney Sweep
• Wandered around a few parks
• Took a train to the airport (if we have an early flight, we like to stay at the airport the night before, just to make things easier on the travel day)

Day 8: Fly home

After killing some time at the Vienna Lounge (which was super nice, by the way – if you have a Priority Pass, you have to stop in), we hopped on a flight to Paris, and then from Paris back home to Salt Lake City.

This trip really was exceptional – I’m already looking forward to our next Christmas market adventure (maybe in Eastern Europe?).